The new Blackberry Torch launched yesterday.

Faced with increased competition from Apple's iPhone and Google's Android run phones, BlackBerry has no choice but to spiff up things and come up with a new product fend off that competition. That urgency was heightened by a recent survey showing that only 42% of BlackBerry owners are looking for their next phone to be a BlackBerry, while 89% of iPhone owners and 71% of Android owners plan to stay with their current platforms.
The new BlackBerry called the Torch 9800, is the first BlackBerry with a slide-out keyboard, the first to combine both a touch screen and a physical keyboard, and the first to allow typing on either a physical keyboard or an onscreen virtual keyboard. It is available on the AT&T network since Aug. 12 for $200 with a two-year contract.
Perhaps the most important feature for the new BlackBerry, is its operating system, which will also be available on future models and as an upgrade for several existing models according to the Wall Street Journal. Called BlackBerry 6, the new software aims to refresh BlackBerry's no freak user interface and feature set. One of its goal is to simplify the cluttered home screen, and to add features such as universal search, multitouch gestures, decent Web browsing, improved social networking and more built-in apps.
But one weak area for Blackberry still remains:it's meager apps offering. As of recently, BlackBerry only offered about 9,000 apps, versus 7o,000 for Google Android and 225,000 for Apple's iPhone.
Also, despite having a smaller screen with a much lower resolution, the Blackberry Torch is significantly ticker and heavier than its main rivals.


For more, see WSJ.com